Overwhelmed with info. Need some help please

[epicbrew]

Hello All

I am new to this and always procrastinated about home brew. I am finally taking the leap and in need of help. Been watching YT, reading books and forums but still feel so lost. Before I start my journey, need for clarifications.

1. Ales are easier to brew than lager?
2. I live in tropical climate, so room temp here is around 25 degrees celcius (77 Fahrenheit). Will it be difficult for me to brew lager in this temp or do I need a chiller?
3. Do all grains beer turn out better tasting than malt extract beer?
4. What is mash temperature and strike temperature?
5. What does it mean when a recipe says original gravity and final gravity?
6. I've seen in videos of people boiling the water to a certain temperature first before inserting the grain sack and leave it in 60-90 mins. However in other videos I see people stirring the pot once they put the grains in. Which is the right way?

Sorry for these newbie questions. Hope you guys can help.

Thank you.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

1. Ales are easier to brew than lager?
-True lager yeast ferments (without off flavors) at lower temps which makes temp control a requirement. Ale yeast have a higher temp range which makes them easier.
2. I live in tropical climate, so room temp here is around 25 degrees celcius (77 Fahrenheit). Will it be difficult for me to brew lager in this temp or do I need a chiller?
-at that temp you may look at using some sort of cooling for your ales. Fermentation will generate heat and drive your temp up and may create some off flavors for you at your current temps.
I wouldn't attempt lager yeast at all w/o temp control.
3. Do all grains beer turn out better tasting than malt extract beer?
-Debatable. Process, recipe, and execution are what make better tasting beer. When done correctly, extract batches can easily surpass a poorly done AG batch. AG will always present more opportunities to customize and tweak aspects of a brew that extract cant.
4. What is mash temperature and strike temperature?
-mash temp is the temp of the water and grains mixed together.
-strike temp is the calculated temp of the water before the grains are added to hit the desired mash temp.
5. What does it mean when a recipe says original gravity and final gravity?
Original Gravity (OG) I'd the specific gravity when first placed into the fermenter before yeast is added.
-Final Gravity (FG) is exactly that, the specific gravity of the beer at completion of fermentation.
6. I've seen in videos of people boiling the water to a certain temperature first before inserting the grain sack and leave it in 60-90 mins. However in other videos I see people stirring the pot once they put the grains in. Which is the right way?
-depends on your process and equipment. Typically you always stir the mash to ensure that it is mixed and that there are no dry "dough balls". They may have omitted that step in the video you saw or they were not mashing but merely steeping grains for an extract batch.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

Good luck.

 

[mattdee1]

1. Ales are easier to brew than lager?

Easier? Maybe not the right word. More forgiving? Yes. Quicker? In general, yes. A better choice for a brand new brewer? Definitely.

2. I live in tropical climate, so room temp here is around 25 degrees celcius (77 Fahrenheit). Will it be difficult for me to brew lager in this temp or do I need a chiller?

To do it well, probably. There are "warm fermentation" methods for lagers but I don't know anything about them, myself.

3. Do all grains beer turn out better tasting than malt extract beer?

In my experience, yes - there is no comparison.

4. What is mash temperature and strike temperature?

Strike temperature is the temperature of the water before you mix it with the grains. The mash temperature is the temperature at which you hold this mixture for some length of time (1 hour is common) to convert the starches to sugar that can be fermented.

5. What does it mean when a recipe says original gravity and final gravity?

Both are measures of "specific gravity" at different phases of the process. Specific gravity is basically the ratio of fluid density to the density of water. In other words, the specific gravity of water is 1.0. A beer with dissolved sugars in it will be more dense, so will have a specific gravity greater than 1.0.

"Original gravity" is the specific gravity measured before fermentation, and final gravity is the specific gravity measured after fermentation. The difference between the two is directly related to the resulting alcohol content of the beer.


6. I've seen in videos of people boiling the water to a certain temperature first before inserting the grain sack and leave it in 60-90 mins. However in other videos I see people stirring the pot once they put the grains in. Which is the right way?

Sounds like you're doing a brew-in-a-bag approach, which I don't know anything about.

 

[eric19312]

Welcome to the hobby @epicbrew

I suggest you read How to Brew by John Palmer. A lot of the information in there is debated here and other places you are bound to find on the internet but overall it is a solid starting place and will answer most of your questions.

There is one innovation that he may not touch on in that book that might be a help to you and that would be getting some kveik yeast. If you can get that yeast you can brew at your temperatures without temp control. You will not be making lagers but you can surely make nice beers you enjoy and are proud to share with your friends.

If you want to do either typical ales or lagers you are not going to be happy fermenting at that temperature. You can probably get to ale temps by putting the fermentor in a bucket of water, wrapping it in a tee shirt, and aiming a fan at the tee shirt, but traditional lagering temps are not going to be feasible.

 

[Kharnynb]

1. Ales are easier to brew than lager?
In general yes, though some ales are harder, but beginner wise, basic ales are much more forgiving in temperature and flavour mistakes.
2. I live in tropical climate, so room temp here is around 25 degrees celcius (77 Fahrenheit). Will it be difficult for me to brew lager in this temp or do I need a chiller?
You will need a cooler even for ales, ales ferment best around 20 degrees celcius. a basic "swamp cooler" should do for ales.(basically a big bucket with water and coolingblocks)
3. Do all grains beer turn out better tasting than malt extract beer?
they both can make good beer, but all grain is cheaper and more versatile
4. What is mash temperature and strike temperature?
mash and strike temperatures are for making your own wort with all-grain brewing, as explained by @mattdee1
5. What does it mean when a recipe says original gravity and final gravity?
Original gravity is the specific gravity of the wort before they yeast is added, ie how much sugar is in it
Final gravity is how much is left after fermentation is done.
6. I've seen in videos of people boiling the water to a certain temperature first before inserting the grain sack and leave it in 60-90 mins. However in other videos I see people stirring the pot once they put the grains in. Which is the right way?
depends on process and equipment, stirring helps if you want better conversion and have external heating, leaving it is easier.

 

[pvpeacock]

Given your room temperature, you may consider brewing a saison or using the Kveik yeast strain for brewing until you have a way to control the fermentation temperatures. Both yeast strains do well in warm temperatures.

 

[IslandLizard]

I suggest you read How to Brew by John Palmer.

I totally second that!
Aside from his invaluable book (4th Ed. currently) here is an old, online version of How to Brew for quick reference, basic brewing terminology, brewing with extracts and a very thorough intro to all grain brewing, among many other processes and tips.

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes, I agree with the suggestions about John Palmer's book. In the beginning, I think it is better to follow one source of information and do it a few times. Then you can branch out. Just read everything in the book and do what it says and you will be on the path.

 

[Rob2010SS]

No need to repeat what everyone said, so I'll say read the aforementioned book, and welcome to the forum! Great resource here with a ton of awesome people. We all started out here asking questions like what you're asking, so don't be afraid to ask.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Others have chimed in. Probably best advice I can give... did you take shop class in junior high or high school? If so, remember all the horror stories? (Yeah, just last year Joe put out Sam's eye with a ball peen hammer.) Of course, these stories were total BS. Why were we told them? To make us think (as in "BE CAREFUL!"). Brewing is similar.

I tell my kids, whenever they have a similar conundrum "What is the worst thing that would happen?". Same applies here. Worst? Dump 5 gallons. So what? It's really not worth stressing over.

As Charlie Papazian said, "Relax, have a homebrew". By this I mean, do it. Brew. Write down the steps in brief notes and brew. Keep notes. Just do it. Learn and then go from there. Learn something each time. Tweak. Don't be scared to try.

Remember, we'll never know success unless we know failure.

 

[skysmyzer]

+1 on the Palmer book, helped me a lot. Main thing is to have a go!.. and take notes.

 

[epicbrew]

Wow this is amazing. I posted that before I slept and wasn't expecting much but to see so many replies this morning is amazing. This forum may not be family friendly but this is definitely one big family. Thank you for all the help. I will start with the book. I'm sure I'll have more questions after that too so I'll be back (in Arnold's voice).

 

[seatazzz]

We're more than a family, we're a huge network of people who all started out just where you are now. There are NO stupid questions asked here (as long as they pertain to homebrewing, :wink and most of us have made some fairly silly mistakes to get where we currently are.

Based on your post, and your locale, I would assume that you may not have great access to a reputable homebrew supply store (you'll see that abbreviated to LHBS here a lot), a lot of the ones around here are more than happy to help out new brewers with questions as well as pointing you in the right direction for purchasing ingredients/supplies. If you do have access to one, you can also ask if they know of any local homebrew clubs in your area; another great way to learn, and meet other homebrewers.

 

[epicbrew]

We're more than a family, we're a huge network of people who all started out just where you are now. There are NO stupid questions asked here (as long as they pertain to homebrewing, :wink and most of us have made some fairly silly mistakes to get where we currently are.

Based on your post, and your locale, I would assume that you may not have great access to a reputable homebrew supply store (you'll see that abbreviated to LHBS here a lot), a lot of the ones around here are more than happy to help out new brewers with questions as well as pointing you in the right direction for purchasing ingredients/supplies. If you do have access to one, you can also ask if they know of any local homebrew clubs in your area; another great way to learn, and meet other homebrewers.

Hello Seatazzz,

Yes you are right. It's massive network and it gives me comfort knowing this. I know I'll eventually get it right since there is a massive support system.

And you are right about the ingredients. I am based in Malaysia and I will need to import them. That's one of my challenges. Another would be the temperature. It's hot and humid here so I'll need a chiller to control the temperature of the fermentation.

Have started reading the book recommended. It is gold!

 

[jrgtr42]

Little late to this party, so I won't answer the specific questions -
I will add that besides Palmer's How to Brew, the other invaluable (to me) book is Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Both very informative - Palmer is more of a scientific, by-the-numbers kind of guy, and Papazian is more of a feel guy - it's a right brain / left brain dynamic there.
Then brewing, the most important things to keep in mind are sanitation, yeast health / happiness, sanitation, temperature control, sanitation, and sanitation. Most things can be got around, but if your equipment isn't clean and bug-free, you'll never make good beer.

 

[Transamguy77]

Lots of good info already posted, I strongly recommend keeping as many notes as you can, that will help later if you have an issue then you can go back and make a change on the next batch. Brewersfriend.com along with having some good resources they have a brew day checklist and a brew day log that you can print off to help keep your day in order. Good luck!

 

[epicbrew]

Little late to this party, so I won't answer the specific questions -
I will add that besides Palmer's How to Brew, the other invaluable (to me) book is Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Both very informative - Palmer is more of a scientific, by-the-numbers kind of guy, and Papazian is more of a feel guy - it's a right brain / left brain dynamic there.
Then brewing, the most important things to keep in mind are sanitation, yeast health / happiness, sanitation, temperature control, sanitation, and sanitation. Most things can be got around, but if your equipment isn't clean and bug-free, you'll never make good beer.

Cheers man. Will surely give it a read

 

[epicbrew]

Lots of good info already posted, I strongly recommend keeping as many notes as you can, that will help later if you have an issue then you can go back and make a change on the next batch. Brewersfriend.com along with having some good resources they have a brew day checklist and a brew day log that you can print off to help keep your day in order. Good luck!

Pecfect. I am not very organised. This will make me one. A checklist and log is perfect to keep records. Cheers mate.